Country Style Smothered Cube Steak (Printable)

Tender beef steaks simmered in rich onion mushroom gravy for classic Southern comfort.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Beef

01 - 4 beef cube steaks, about 5-6 oz each

→ Seasoning & Coating

02 - 1 cup all-purpose flour
03 - 1 teaspoon kosher salt
04 - 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
05 - 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

→ Fats

06 - 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
07 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

→ Vegetables

08 - 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
09 - 8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
10 - 2 cloves garlic, minced

→ Liquids

11 - 2 cups beef broth
12 - 1/2 cup whole milk (or heavy cream for a richer sauce)
13 - 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

→ Garnish

14 - 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

# How To Make It:

01 - In a shallow dish, combine the flour, salt, black pepper, and paprika. Dredge each cube steak in the seasoned flour mixture, coating both sides evenly. Shake off any excess and reserve 2 tablespoons of the seasoned flour for the gravy.
02 - Heat the vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the butter is foaming, add the cube steaks and sear for 2-3 minutes per side until a golden-brown crust forms. Transfer the steaks to a plate and set aside.
03 - Reduce the heat to medium. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter to the skillet along with the sliced onions and mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened and the mushrooms are deeply browned, about 6-8 minutes.
04 - Add the minced garlic and the reserved seasoned flour to the skillet. Stir continuously for 1 minute to cook off the raw flour taste and bloom the garlic.
05 - Slowly pour in the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce, stirring constantly and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Stir in the milk and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer.
06 - Return the seared cube steaks to the skillet, nestling them down into the gravy. Cover with a lid, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the steaks are fork-tender and the gravy has thickened to a rich consistency.
07 - Taste the gravy and adjust the seasoning with additional salt and pepper if needed. Transfer to serving plates, spoon the gravy generously over each steak, and garnish with freshly chopped parsley.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The gravy builds right in the same pan, so every crispy brown bit gets folded back into the sauce where it belongs.
  • Cube steak turns fall apart tender with a low simmer, no fancy technique required.
  • It tastes like it took all day but barely asks forty minutes of your stove.
02 -
  • Do not rush the browning step because that golden crust is where half the gravy's flavor comes from.
  • Keep the simmer truly low once the steaks go back in, because boiling toughens the meat instead of tenderizing it.
  • If the gravy ends up too thin, uncover the skillet for the last five minutes and let it reduce until it reaches the consistency you want.
03 -
  • Pat the cube steaks completely dry before dredging so the flour coating actually sticks instead of turning gummy.
  • Use a wide spatula instead of tongs to flip the steaks so you do not tear the crust off while turning them.

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